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Celebrating the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence: About This Project
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The existence of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is debated, not solved in this exhibit. Each reader can learn about this document and how the events in 1775 have been discussed and celebrated for over 200 years. With pride, we present facts and entertainment that have been incorporated into the history of the region and the state. After looking at both sides, we hope you will cast your vote – is it history or hoax?

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the following community members and organizations and apologize to anyone we may have omitted:

  • Mary Boyer
  • Tony Crumbley
  • Rev. Jeff Lowrance
  • Donald Medlin
  • The Mecklenburg Times
  • Charlotte Museum of History
  • The Charlotte News
  • The Charlotte Observer

The Carolina Room in the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County has several files specifically designated to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence as well as the signers. Other materials are available in the Carolina Room about this subject.

  • Blower, Daniel Frederick. 1984. The Orange County and Mecklenburg County Instructions: The Development of Political Individualism in Back Country North Carolina, 1740-1776.

  • District of Columbia Historical Records Survey. 1940. Calendar of the Letters and Documents of Peter Force and His Son William Q. Force on the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence in the Loomis Collection Washington, D. C.

  • Draper, Lyman Copeland. The Draper Manuscript Collection (on microform).

  • Grady, Henry A. 1929. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence of May 20, 1775.

  • Graham, George W., M. D. 1905. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. May 20, 1775 And Lives of Its Signers.

  • Graham, George W., M. C. 1898. Why North Carolinians Believe in the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence of May 20th, 1775.

  • Graham, William A. 1875. The Address of the Hon. Wm. A. Graham on the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence on the 20th of May, 1775.

  • Harris, William S. 1924. Historical Sketches of Poplar Tent Church.

  • Henderson, Archibald, Dr. 1955. Cradle of Liberty. Historical Essays Concerning the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, May 20, 1775.

  • Henderson, Archibald, M. A., Ph. D. 1916. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence And The Revolution in North Carolina in 1775. Transylvania, Craven, Anson and Mecklenburg.

  • Hoyt, William Henry, A. M. 1907. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. A Study of Evidence Showing that the Alleged Early Declaration of Independence by Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on May 20th, 1775, is Spurious.

  • Jones, Joseph Sewell. 1838. Memorials of North Carolina.

  • King, Victor C. 1956. Lives and Times of the 27 Signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence of May 20, 1775.

  • McDowell, Grace Bradford. [1971]. Lest We Forget Our Heritage.

  • McKnitt, V. V. 1960. Chain of Error and the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

  • Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, May 20th, 1775. [1909].

  • Mecklenburg Monument Association. 1898. Unveiling of the Monument to the Signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

  • Moore, James H. 1908. Defence of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

  • North Carolina Historical Review - 1924, 1927, 1939, 1940, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1958, 1962-1965, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1982.

  • One Hundred and Forty First Anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, Charlotte, N. C., May 18-19-20, 1916. [1916].

  • Philips, Charles. 1887. “May, 1775.”

  • Ray, Worth S. 1962. The Mecklenburg Signers and Their Neighbors.

  • Smyth, Thomas, Rev. 1847. The Origin and Source of the Mecklenburg and National Declaration of Independence.

  • Souvenir of the President’s Visit to Charlotte, North Carolina, May 20: The Story of the Celebration of the 134th Anniversary of the Signing of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence: 1775-1909.

  • Watkins. D. Hatcher and Charles G. Mullen. [1906]. The Hundred and Thirty-First Anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

  • Wheeler, John H. 1875. The Lives and Characters of the Signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, of the 20th of May, 1775.
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